


Beautiful

by suddenlycomics



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2018-01-04 19:20:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1084774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suddenlycomics/pseuds/suddenlycomics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the blast that kills the Reapers, Shepard finally gets to see what the blast did to her. However, Zaeed has a few choice words before she does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beautiful

It probably spoke volumes about how out it Shepard was that it took her so long to realize that she had no idea what she looked like with her injuries. She knew there was no way she had gotten out of what happened unscathed. Even with medication, there was an ever present ache all over her skin and there was tightness in some places.

“I want a mirror.” Shepard said, causing Zaeed to look up from the datapad he was reading. Shepard suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious and gripped the sheets. “Please, I want to see.” Zaeed wordlessly got up and went to the bathroom. After some cursing (something about how "of course this would happen when I was here") and the sounds of drawers being banged opened and closed, he returned to the room.

“Now before I give this to you, you’re going to listen to what I have to say.” Zaeed said, holding the mirror just out of her reach.

“Zaeed.”

“This don’t leave the room but I always thought you were beautiful, still do. A few scars here and there don’t change a goddamn thing.” Shepard blinked a few times and he placed the mirror in her hands.

Slowly, she lowered her eyes to meet her reflection’s gaze. The first thing she noticed was how small her head looked without hair. As she turned her head, she could see a surgical scar that stretched from just above her ear to the base of her skull. Her face was still bruised, leaving patches of sickly yellow and blue. There were a few scars but the most prominent one was a long scar that stretched from across her nose and down her right cheek. The most eye-catching feature was the scars from the burns that she must have gotten when the Catalyst fired. They peppered the left side of her face and traveled down her neck.

After studying her reflection for a while, a strangled laugh escaped her lips.

“Garrus and I are going to be quite the pair when he gets back.” Shepard said, letting the mirror rest on her lap.

“I like ‘em. People’ll think twice before messing with either you, that’s for sure.” Zaeed said, sitting back in his chair. “Shows you’re a tough sonuvabitch to kill.”

“I suppose it does.” Shepard agreed, suddenly feeling tired. “Thanks, Zaeed.”

“Get some sleep, Shepard.”


End file.
